New beats as Japanese artists play ‘nyatiti’ and taiko drums

The sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) conference in Nairobi this weekend will also offer a taste of Japanese and Kenyan music styles on the sidelines.

The musical performances consist a Japanese musician who continues to amaze the world with her mastery of the traditional Luo stringed instrument of nyatiti and a concert showcasing the ancient Japanese percussion of large drums known as “taiko.”

Wine barrel

Eriko Mukoyama, popularly known as Anyango is performing at events on the sidelines of TICAD Summit and Conference while Shuichi Hidano, one of the most successful Japanese “taiko” drummers will be performing at the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi tonight.

The size of the drums range in size from the most common “chu-daiko” which is the size of a wine barrel to the “o-daiko” which can be greater than one meter in length.

The taiko (short form of wadaiko) that is played using wooden sticks known as “bachi” produces a loud rumbling thunder-like sound, which creates a powerful and dramatic atmosphere on stage.

Anyango will be playing at a Symposium on the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize that honours outstanding achievements of medical research and at a seminar on maternal and child health attended by the visiting First Ladies on August 27.

“I will be playing a traditional acoustic set, kali kabisa, during the First Ladies event,” says Anyango. She will also be accompanied by the group Kenge Kenge Orutu System for a song from her new album “Anyango: The Safari of Eriko Mukoyama.” This is the seventh album in the nyatitti series since the Japanese musician spent a year and a half in a village in Alego learning the eight-stringed instrument in 2001.

Since her arrival in Nairobi a week ago, Anyango has also been rehearsing for a separate performance set with her electronic nyatiti together with a band comprising Ricky Nanjero on bass guitar, percussionist Kasiva Mutua, vocalist Lydia Ogoti among others.

“I was meeting these musicians for the first time so that was a challenge, but I am happy that it has worked out great,” she says.

Her first performance with this band was last night at the Thursday Nite Live” at the Choices Club and she hold another public show at the Alchemist in Westlands on 3 September.

2,000 concerts

Hidano will also play a dynamic fusion of the “taiko” with various contemporary influences like jazz, classical and rock. He describes his style as a balance of tradition and innovation as he develops new methods of performance and modifies the instrument.

Among his innovations are opening up air holes in the drum body, stretching double layers of drum skin on the instruments and devising an all-weather” taiko that retains its original sound despite changes in weather conditions.

He has performed at more than 2000 concerts around the world and shared the stage with many top acts, notably the influential US pianist Herbie Hancock whose band he played in during the 2014 UNESCO International Jazz Day and Stevie Wonder, whom he toured with at venues in Asia in 2010.

Hidano has released four CDs, written instructional books and filmed videos that are used to train students and professionals drummers on taiko.

This will be his third performance in Kenya following previous shows in 1998 and 2012.

Born in 1969, in Yokohama, Japan, Hidano showed an interest in the piano at the age of three and then switched his attention to drums and percussion at 10. At age 19, he joined the world-renowned Taiko group Kodo where he developed his skills for a year before launching a solo career in 1989. Since then he has kept a busy diary of performances around the world both a solo artist and as a member of various groups.

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He co-founded the group Tokyo Dagekidan and joined fellow drummer Akira Jimbo, to form Hidajimbo, a project involving a fusion of Japanese taiko and electronic synthesized Western drums.

He also leads an ensemble of seven young members known as the Taiko Masters, each of whom is an accomplished solo artist. Hidano received global attention for his outstanding performances at the closing ceremonies of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and the 2002 edition jointly hosted by Korea and Japan.

Drum concert

He has been performed at various official national events in Japan and elsewhere in the world.

In 2008, he produced a collaboration performance for the presentation ceremony of the First Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize before the Emperor of Japan and the Prime Minister.

In 2015, Hidano performed at a special event to mark the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic normalisation between Japan and Korea. He also led a group of musicians during a concert to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Uganda in Kampala in 2012.

The Japanese drum concert “Celebrating TICAD VI” is a free concert at 7pm tonight at the Alliance Francaise Nairobi.